NESCOM Burraq

The Burraq (Urdu: بُراق) is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) jointly developed and built by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).[1]

Burraq
Role UAV/UAS and UCAV
National origin Pakistan
Manufacturer NESCOM
First flight 9 May 2009
Introduction 2013
Status In service
Primary users Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Army
Produced 2009-Present

Development
Main article: Drone Attacks on Pakistan by the United States of America

Since 2004, the United States (US) has been conducting controversial strikes with its own Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle systems in Pakistan's north-west territories, that target suspected militants in the region.[2] For years, Pakistan had been pushing the US to allow it to acquire the MQ-1 Predator, the main UCAV system the US uses in the strikes, but such requests were denied amid fear of technology proliferation.[3] Burraq development is thought to have primarily begun in 2009, with the contract being awarded to NESCOM in close coordination with the Pakistan Air Force.[1]

Growing frustration over the US refusal and politicization of the US UCAV strikes in the country, the Burraq program is thought to have picked up its speed in secrecy.[4] In 2012, China offered to help by selling Pakistan armed drones it had developed, but questions were raised about the capabilities of the drones.[4] The first few models of the Burraq were only capable of surveillance and intelligence gathering, and lacked any offensive combat capability. Some of these early models were used by the Pakistani military to track down militants. The first combat capable version of the Burraq was first publicly demonstrated in March 2015.[3]

The Burraq is thought to be inspired from the US MQ-1 Predator drone, the Chinese CASC Rainbow CH-3 A and the Italian Selex ES Falco.

About the Burraq program, Popular Science noted: "with the Burraq, Pakistan can now do drone strikes on their own, without the United States."[5]

Origin of name

The name, Burraq, comes from interpretations of Surah Al Isra in the Qur'an.[6] According to Islamic traditions, Buraq is a steed, described as a creature from the heavens which carried Muhammad from Makkah to Al-Aqsa and then to the heavens, and back to Makkah during Mi'raj (lit. "Night Journey"), which is the title of Surah Al Isra, one of the chapters in the Qur'an.[7]

Operational history

The first fleet of Burraqs was inducted in the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan army in 2013 along with the Shahpar UCAV. It also carries various imagery and motion sensors, and is equipped with a laser guided air-to-surface missile named "Barq".[8][9]

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the public relations department of the Pakistan Armed Forces, described the system as a "force multiplier."[10]


After a successful demonstration of its ability to fire missiles at both stationary and moving targets, Pakistan became the fifth country in the world to successfully develop an unmanned combat aerial vehicle.[11]


On 7 September 2015, the Burraq was used for the first time in a live military operation when it was used to fire on a terrorist compound in the Shawal Valley in the Pakistani tribal areas, eliminating three high-profile targets, according to the former Director General of the ISPR, Major General General Asim Saleem Bajwa. Pakistan became the fourth country after Israel, the US and the UK to use an armed drone in active combat.[12][13]

Before the Burraq was publicly unveiled for the first time, the Pakistani military reportedly conducted several strikes using the UCAV, as part of the Khyber-1 military operations in the Tirah Valley.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Pakistan Army, Air Force equipped with drones 'Burraq', 'Shahpar". Daily Motion. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  2. Atherton, Kelsey D. (March 2013). "Who Are The Casualties of America's Drone Strikes? [Infographic]". popsci.com/. PopScience. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. Bokhari, Farhan. "Pakistan to deploy its own UAVs over FATA". Janes, 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  4. CBS News (17 November 2012). "Pakistan racing to develop armed drones, officials say". CBS, Pakistan. CBS, Pakistan. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  5. Staff work. "Burraq & Shahpar Pakistani Drones to Air Force & Pak Army". currentaffairspk.com/. Current Affairs. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. News desk (12 March 2015). "Pakistan's first missile-armed drone hits bull's eye". Samma TV. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  7. "No PR-188/2013-ISPR". Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR). Rawalpindi. 25 November 2013.
  8. News Agencies (13 March 2015). "Feather in the cap: Pakistan successfully tests armed drone". The Express Tribune. Islamabad, Pakistan.
  9. Hardy, James; Bokhari, Farhan (12 March 2015). "Pakistan successfully fires missile from indigenous UAV". janes.com/. Washington DC: IHS Janes. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  10. ISPR Works. "Pak successfully test fires own indigenous developed armed". ispr.gov.pk. ISPR. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  11. "Why Pakistan's first drone strike should worry Obama". The Express Tribune. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  12. "Pakistani army claims it has killed three militants using its Burraq drone". The Guardian. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  13. Baghwan, Jamshed (26 March 2015). "Drone war: 'Burraq' turned the tide in Tirah battle, say officials". The Express Tribune.
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